Death row inmate set to die by firing squad gives desperate final plea before execution

A death row inmate in the US who is set to be executed by a firing squad as per his own request has made a final plea for a reprieve.

South Carolina man Brad Sigmon was sentenced to death in 2002 for the double murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents the previous year.

On 27 April, 2001, Sigmon beat 62-year-old David Larke and his 59-year-old wife Gladys Larke to death with each of them sustaining nine blows to their heads.

Their daughter Rebecca Barbare, an ex-girlfriend of Sigmon who had split up with him, was abducted by the man at gunpoint after she returned home to find her parents had been murdered.

She was able to escape from him and get away, prompting a manhunt which eventually captured Sigmon.

Brad Sigmon chose the firing squad over a lethal injection or the electric chair (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

Sentenced to death row, the now 67-year-old Sigmon has lodged a number of appeals against the death penalty given to him, but none have been successful.

He has been scheduled to be executed by firing squad, the method of execution made at his own request, today (7 March) and as such the window of time for him to be granted a stay of execution is running out.

According to his lawyers, Sigmon chose the firing squad because he was concerned over a 'prolonged' death from lethal injection or electrocution and it will be the first time in 15 years that the US has executed someone via firing squad.

Sigmon's lawyer Bo King has complained he wasn't given enough information about the lethal injection option, telling WYFF 4: "He wanted to know had the drugs expired, had they been diluted, had they spoiled? And none of those facts were disclosed despite his repeated requests."

He also claimed Sigmon was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the trial and crime and should be spared. He said: "The death penalty is intended for the worst of the worst, and so in a case like Brad's, the evidence that he's experiencing the psychotic break, that he's not competent at the time of trial, we think that argues against the imposition of the sentence."

The South Carolina Supreme Court recently rejected his final appeal, so his final plea to be spared execution relies upon state governor Henry McMaster.

However, this final plea is unlikely as the Daily Mail reports that since the US state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, no South Carolina governor has ever intervened to stop the imminent execution of a death row prisoner.

If Sigmon is not granted a stay of execution this is the room he will be shot dead in by a firing squad (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

In that time South Carolina has executed 46 inmates, so Sigmon's chances of his execution not happening would appear to be low.

When the execution is carried out Sigmon, who asked for three buckets of KFC chicken has his final meal in order to share them with fellow death row inmates, will be taken into a room and sat down on a chair.

The room is the same one which contains an electric chair, and in 2022 the South Carolina Department of Corrections said they had refurbished to room in order to carry out executions by firing squad.

A hood will be placed over his head and the execution order will be read out, at which point the 67-year-old will be asked to provide a final statement if he should wish to.

A marker will be placed on Sigmon's heart and he will be shot dead by three volunteers who work for the Department Of Corrections, and a doctor will examine his body to make sure he is dead.